Simmering Summer- III
The Burrow had seen plenty of tears and tantrums over the loss of Scabbers by Ron, and over Harry making it clear that he only thought of her as a sister by Ginny. Ron's distress was understandable, as even if the rat had turned out to be Peter Pettigrew (something he didn't know), it was still his pet. He had ended up recalling the 'brave' things the rat had done; it had bitten Goyle for him. The rest of the Burrows occupants just decided to grin and bear it, till finally, Arthur decided to buy his youngest son an owl. That perked Ron up considerably.
Ginny though, was proving to be a tough nut to crack. While she had acted as if she had understood, if not accepted what he said, once he had left she had promptly burst into an almost unending bout of tears. All her brothers tried to calm her down a bit, to no avail. Finally, when she calmed down a bit as they all started on their cups of a fortifying cup of tea, she said, half-shouting through her tears, "HE IS SUPPOSED TO MARRY ME, MUM, DAD! HE MUST LOVE ME!" At the word 'marry', all five elder brothers present choked on their tea, and started looking at her in an odd way. Ginny continued heedlessly, "HE WAS THERE, JUST LIKE IN THE STORIES THAT YOU TOLD ME ABOUT! HE SAVED ME, THE DAMSEL IN DISTRESS! WE'D LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER! HE KILLED THE MONSTER TO SAVE ME, AND WAS STANDING WITH THE WAND AND SWORD! THE STORIES WERE COMING TRUE, JUST AS YOU SAID THEY WOULD! "
"ENOUGH!" bellowed Percy. He had over the years, made several attempts to protect his sister from what he considered, quite rightly, brainwashing. He had implored, begged, and basically requested in every polite way for his parents to stop reading those stories to his sister. He had harboured a little grudge against the boy-who-lived, but after all that he had seen of Harry, he was entirely sure that the boy was much more than the persona that the books had created. This person was a power, both magically and politically. Most importantly, he had opened Percy's eyes about the world. In his totally unbiased opinion, stereotyping Harry into the boy-who-lived persona was the greatest insult anyone could think of.
Fred, George and Ron were appreciating Percy being their brother for the first time ever. All three of them had heard what Harry had said to Ginny, and totally agreed with their friend. He was behaving as a brother should with her, and moreover, was helping to give her some confidence. That Ginny was locked up in some fantasy was most certainly not his fault. They had never really understood why Percy hated Ginny being told the foolish fairy tales about Harry, but now faced with irrefutable evidence, they realised what Percy had been saying all along.
Turning to Bill, Percy vented his agitation, "Do you see now, Bill? I had been writing to you and Charlie as much as I could to get you to make our parents stop that nonsense! Ask them how many times I literally grovelled at their feet to stop telling Ginny about those stories! All of us heard what the boy said to Ginny. What was your impression of him?"
Percy threw the stack of the Harry Potter adventure books that he summoned from Ginny's room onto the table in front of Bill. "Read that utter dirt. Is Harry anything like that? We have seen and heard the real Harry Potter, who is a normal, vulnerable boy. True, he fought you-know-who twice more, and now we have reasons why he is not dead. Dad!" he burst out venomously at his father, who flinched at his third son's voice. "You, Bill and I know what that boy is really dealing with! Is he the boy from the fairy tales? I will be the first to accept that I held a little grudge against him for all his heroics, out of jealousy perhaps! These three," he said pointing at his younger brothers, "freed him from the jail those muggle relatives had put him into! Those stories never touched the real person! He has been left and forgotten by our world time and again, while everyone else benefitted from his sorrow! Those people who wrote these books, have never known what those muggles did to him, they just kept on benefitting monetarily. How else do you think Dad's car-shed was open last summer when they went to rescue him? I had been observing him. He isn't anything like those books Ginny; he is doing what we all should do. He is trying to be a better brother to you! Accept it!"
"You!" yelled Ron, Fred and George in unison.
"Yes. Me."
"All that IS BESIDES THE POINT!" yelled Ginny. "I AM NOT HIS SISTER! IF HE CAN'T LIKE ME NORMALLY, WE CAN ALWAYS GIVE HIM LOVE POTIONS LIKE MUM GAVE DAD!"
SLAP! Arthur Weasley had had a poor day, starting with the discovery of Pettigrew, and now to hear his daughter speak of such things made the usually calm man lose his temper (Only the brief discussion about the restaurant had gone well). The day ended even poorly, as he slapped his daughter, hard. With a voice trembling with rage, Arthur spoke to his daughter, "Yes, Molly did give me potions. But, and you listen to this well, you idiotic girl, both she and I loved each other, but I was feeling quite cowardly to blurt it out. My friends had told her that I loved her. As for you dosing Harry, let me remind you that he is the presumptive Lord of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter. The Ancient House of Weasley is a vassal of the House of Potter. We are talking about the Liege-lord of our House too. If, and let me reiterate again, if, he seems to fall for you, I will have him checked for Potions, and I am sure that the test will be positive, as we know that he has sworn an Oath. And, should it so happen, that I find him to be under such influence, then daughter or no, I will personally hand you over to the authorities. Whatever you are talking about is called Line Theft, and has the punishment of the Dementor's Kiss."
Ginny burst into renewed tears as she had never expected this. Bill continued, "As Heir Weasley, I second what the Head of the House says. All of us asked him if there was any way we could serve him, and he brushed it off, calling no debt between family members. He has kept on helping us. We owe him a lot, even though he doesn't recognise that. Try to trouble Harry that way, and I personally will write down a life debt request against you, Ginevra, daughter of House Weasley. We are in perennial debt of the House Potter over several generations, and the last of that line has only helped us more than any of his ancestors have. We are honour bound to serve him in his time of need, to be loyal to him and to earn and retain his trust. He did try to convince you to not consider yourself a monster, but your behaviour and even the thought of trying to manipulate him is monstrous."
Molly had been quiet all along, but the mother could no longer leave the matter when her baby girl was crying and distraught. "Arthur, Bill, can't you let her be? It's just a simple infatuation!" she said sharply. "I am quite sure she will get over that!"
"She won't!" retorted Arthur vociferously. "She shouldn't even have such delusions at her age. She told You-know-who about it, Molly! When Harry told us to take her to a mind-healer, I doubt that even he was thinking about this. This won't continue. Listen now, and listen hard. Five of our kids think of that boy as their brother. He thinks of them all as his siblings, Ginny included. I don't see that ever changing. Do not try and take matters into your own hands about this! Am I clear? I am sorry, I slapped you Ginny, but I have realised that you are delusional. And I'm sorry that I ignored your warnings, Percy."
Harry's visit, unknown to him was the harbinger of much tumult in the Weasley family.
While they all did not like the idea of having their memories wiped, they knew exactly why it was needed. A magical oath was binding, recorded in the Book of Oaths, and that had destroyed their chance at power. At the end of the day, Peter Pettigrew, but not Harry's insinuations about Dumbledore were by force of oath, forgotten. They were honour-bound to keep his secrets.
Cassiopeia sat watching over her charge, and cursed whoever had come up with the ridiculous rule to wipe out the memories till it was the last chance. She felt very bad for shouting at the kid, for that was what he truly was, when he came in the last time. With the knowledge of things to come, he could have gone all out and destroyed the whole timeline and basically run amok with the knowledge. Instead, he had used it as one would use a fine trickle of potable water in a desert: sensibly.
While she hadn't thought of the basilisk carcass, she had to admit that it was a masterstroke at generating funds for whatever ideas he was going to implement. A million galleons was nothing to be sniffed at. By providing for the people who were affected by the basilisk and helping them have some magical status, he already had gained proper friends. Percy Weasley who in the previous timeline had become a ministry stooge was now a formidable ally with a newfound outlook and view towards those in authority; provided he was handled with care. She had only helped him incriminate Dumbledore a bit, and the boy had taken it to bring down Lucius Malfoy who could only be given a trial out of courtesy, but with its outcome already known. Pettigrew would be out of commission soon, but he was already under the best lock and key possible. Sirius would soon be free. She was very happy with the progress her charge had made already. Buying the house at Privet Drive, that was a clever move. And he would still be better protected, in every fathomable way.
Harry woke up with much better spirits. Cassiopeia had been cautiously optimistic about the early changes effected by their combined meddling through time. If Harry could've made a checklist, it would have seen many checked boxes. Weasleys managed; Peter caught; Neville and Luna befriended; Sirius reawakened; Minerva McGonagall taken out from under Old Man Whiskers' thumb; yes, it was quite a decent list. She had also explained that Percy Weasley had become an important ally from the point of view of the Wizengamot, as he now had been diverted from the path of mindlessly following rules to understanding their sense in context. The last time around, he had only heard of Harry doing things, but hadn't seen any proof. Now that he had, and had understood the scenarios that Harry had painted, he had grown to respect the boy. "Useful," thought Harry.
Somehow, though, her demeanour made him very nervous. She had very nervously told him that she had some plans for Hermione for later in the summer. Harry was unsure as to whether this was good or bad. Also, she had cryptically told him something about the two purest forms of magic and the concept of gene pools not mixing well and throwing up some wildly interesting results. Unsure as to exactly what to make of that, Harry left it for another time. What worried him, though, was the simple fact that she had plans for Hermione. Truly, worried was a massive understatement. It was a Reaper having plans for her after all.
Albus Dumbledore sat in his office, poring over several sheaves of documents and letters as he prepared for the ICW meeting in Brazil where he would be presiding as the Supreme Mugwump. There were several trade related issues, as also issues regarding the magical involvement in the terrorist tensions brewing in the Indian Subcontinent. "Violence," he mused with a self-appreciative smile and a look of saintly disdain for the practitioners of violence, "is for the weak. It causes a person to lose sight of the beautiful and terrible thing that is truth." He wondered when he had accepted the thoughts of the muggle Indian national leader who had propounded these and similar thoughts. It was a shame that the whole philosophy of forgiveness, non-violence and remorse and regret on the part of the offenders was practised in a way that destroyed justice and caused far more trouble than if immediate and severe punishment and justice had been meted out.
A letter from a former student grabbed his attention. Remus Lupin had sent in his application for the post of the DADA professor. He grimaced at this. Bringing Remus back would mean an obvious contact between the man and Harry. He had worked relentlessly to prevent the two ever being in contact, as it would have been against the Greater Good if ... he would have to scratch that phrase. However Harry had learnt of it, Dumbledore did not know. Returning to his train of thought, Dumbledore realised that now that Harry had no need to sacrifice himself, it did not make any sense to keep them apart anymore. Now that he knew the number of Horcruxes that Voldemort had made, and two of them were destroyed, with his prophesied one alive, it would help to have a werewolf on his side to infiltrate the packs again. The James and Lily Potter Institute was an inspired funding from the boy, and Dumbledore was happy that he had found a way to reach out to that community. It would help with the war when it eventually came, as he knew it would. The other part of this was that Harry would now need real training. Now that he was no longer a pig raised for slaughter, he would be heralded as the Champion of the Light, as the Hero that their world needed. Remus, he decided was the perfect start to that step. He also had the benefit of being someone from Harry's past. This was a person who could be used to appease the boy and bring him to heel, as he should have always been. In his opinion, Harry should have felt blessed to be taken as Dumbledore's apprentice.
"Well," decided Dumbledore, "I am going to sit on this till I return in three weeks time. Remus Lupin should better be useful to me."
It was Friday when Harry let the three Dursleys out of their imprisonments and erased their memories of their punishments being meted out. After a dose each of Pepper-up potion to the three, he got them all to get themselves cleaned. He was not surprised to find them unresisting. They were still reliving their worst times, memories and actions. Harry had to make sure that they were ready for that afternoon, when Bill, Goldhaul and Biggem would come to buy the houses as they had intimated. With magical contracts, a little compulsion for the readers to agree, and the transfer of Harry's custody legally to Sirius via Biggem, and an approved architectural layout of the Marauders' Place as he had named it, ready, it was only the mere formality of the signatures and construction that remained. Harry had personally checked on the fact that the blood ward monitors in Dumbledore's office were working; he had placed a deceiving charm on the instruments, along with a coupled monitor to alert him whenever there was any discrepancy. It would not do for Dumbledore to know about his plans till he was safely ensconced behind a Fidelius and the old man could at best remember only the area and nothing more.
At exactly quarter past four that evening, Bill and the two goblins arrived at #4, having already completed the business with the owners of #2 and #6, each with prior appointment. Over two timelines, Harry had long since decided not to question the efficiency of Gringotts when they would be paid, as also the wonders of magic, even when it came to dealing with bureaucratic procedures. Harry cajoled the nearly catatonic Dursleys into getting ready for the meeting. He had managed to convince them, somehow, that they had been ill, that he didn't know what to do, and that he had tried to ask them to allow him to use the telephone to call the doctor, but hadn't received any response; and that they had agreed to this meeting but had likely forgotten. Their poor mental and thereby, physical states had made them quite susceptible to his words, and it never registered with them that they were being convinced by their hated nephew.
With a decent bid of a hundred thousand pounds, it was never going to be a doubt that the Dursleys would agree. In the end, it was an extremely illegal and unethical way in which they relinquished whatever little hold they had on Harry. It only took ten thousand pounds more, to sign him over to the custody of the new owner, and to legally disown him. Harry, who was snickering inwardly at this show, marvelled at the oblivious behaviour of the three Dursleys. Even with their disguises, the Goblins' anger was very easily displayed on their new visages, as it was on Bill's. Their disgust with the Dursleys for effectively selling their nephew to some unknown person was causing a slight shake to the house and rattling of windows as they almost lost control of their magic, but Harry's rather exuberant and illuminating smile calmed them to a great extent. And so it was, that at a combined cost of four hundred and thirty eight thousand pounds including taxes and paperwork, Harry became the proud owner of three properties, and of his own freedom. It was only later that he learnt that the document itself had compulsion charms on it. That was alright in his books. The possession of the properties that he would receive two days later meant that he only had to go through the construction plans again, and approve them. That was an excellent starting point for communications with Luna and Neville. They would have great suggestions for the gardens.
The plans for the house were very simple, as far as the architectural elaboration went. Harry had always favoured the old elegance that was evident in both the Gothic Revival and Queen Anne styles of architecture, though the former was more often seen in churches and such other places of worship. To Harry, it added the peace and tranquillity that he would choose to associate with a home. He had deliberately planned it in such a way that it would lay more to the side of the property that was number six. It was to be a structure with three wings. A central minaret that would house a very large telescope at the top (that was more for Sirius' benefit; the man had almost eidetic knowledge of muggle advancements in space research, though not the engineering aspects. His love for astronomy was the only thing he shared with his father) was the top of a structure that acted as a bridge on the second level and a storage area on the lower level. Its height was designed to be at roughly four stories. The three wings, arranged in an incomplete equilateral triangle around the minaret, were equal in size, but dissimilar in design.
The facing wing had, oddly, certain symmetry to it. With two garage bays as the flanks, the central house had a steep sloping pitched roof. It didn't have any bedrooms. It had a front porch with ornately carved arches on three sides, which overlooked the designed gardens on two sides of the cobbled approach path, which diverged towards the garage bays. It housed the main living area, a small hall where Harry planned to install the Floo network, and a room where portraits- existing or newly commissioned- would be hung, all on the lower floor, both of them adjoining a congregation hall with space expansion charms. The upper and lower stories would house the prodigiously extensive Potter library with a magical ladder and indexing system. A small room where Harry planned to install a computer, a television and other non-magical amenities would be on the second storey. Adjoining to these would be a pathway to the corridor to the central minaret and the other wings, as well as a reading room. Harry had decided to use extensions and projections for better lighting. He intended for this wing to have cooling charms instead of air-conditioning instruments, but otherwise, electricity would be the real source of light. The electrical would be isolated with runic arrays to prevent concentration of magical energy, causing any sort of interference. Harry compared it to a Faraday's cage, only acting in the reverse manner, preventing outside magical energy from coming into contact with the electrical charges inside.
The eastern wing was the place where Harry had big plans. This would fall more in the property of the erstwhile numbers 2 and 4. It would be L-shaped, with two towers that would have charmed windows shaped like large open arches that would create an illusion of country scenery. The house itself would have a kitchen and adjoining dining area, and accommodation for the house-elves on the lower storey. The second level would have a non-magical gymnasium and duelling room, as well as a potions lab and a healing room. A chimney shaft from the kitchen would extend to the level slightly above the towers, which had smoke banishing charms set at its top, just as they would for the of the shafts for the Floo network fireplaces.
The western wing, which fell more in the precincts of the erstwhile number six, would overlook a small vegetable patch, where Harry intended to grow his own vegetables. This wing would have the bedrooms. It had been planned in such a way as to have the upper storey with projections and bay windows and galleries to each of the bedrooms, instead of conventional plane surfaces. An attic which would double up as an Owlery would be in the sloping- roofed projection structure on the third and topmost storey. The lower two stories housed nine bedrooms in all, with two sets of bathrooms and toilets on each floor. A very clever idea of using enclosed cupboard-like spaces for the plumbing and wiring to keep it all concealed, yet accessible enough for repairs was to be incorporated. That was something that Harry had added. The muggle-born architect, Andrew Wilshere, a Gryffindor who had graduated five years before Harry started, had planned the house with inputs from Harry. Being a magical house, they had incorporated various tricks and ideas to ensure natural lighting and dispelling shadows due to the daily cycle of the sun, by using mirrors, light manipulation and energy redirection charms and runes. Harry was highly irritated with himself for not taking that elective in the previous timeline, having seen its myriad uses, just in the field of magical house construction. The typical exteriors used for both construction styles were to be used.
There were a few more additions that Harry had particularly chosen. A small deep pond of water with a magically modified motor to keep the water from becoming stagnant stood at the far end of the property. It was small enough to fit, but large enough for two or three people to swim in. Just underneath the central minaret, right under the tower was to be a basement which could be locked with reinforced steel doors. It also had magical ventilation. This was chiefly for Moony's benefit.
On the whole, Harry was supremely pleased with the slightly odd and quirky mix of a house. It was something he had always envisioned as his own place. Now, he had the people to fill it with too. With the three families set to leave in a matter of a week (#2 and #6 were evacuating by Monday; a part of rather immaculate two way planning with the Dursleys being taken care of the last), Harry asked the Wards-specialists to start placing ward-stones around the three properties, as unobtrusively as possible. He then proceeded to build himself a small shed using several sheets of asbestos and planks of wood in the backyard of number four. Just because the Dursleys would soon leave, he didn't feel obligated to behave as if they really were family. Whatever Dudley had said a year ago was too little, too late. He had washed his hands off them, just as they had disowned him in all but words.
Away in the cell in Azkaban, Sirius received a small Hamper, and a message. "Hey! Old mutt! House deals done! Construction starts next week, I have got a kennel for you. Be ready, you will be escaping next to next week, at night. Just a few days until Fudge's inspection left. I am using that time to gather some resources for your health. Be calm, Dogfather, and follow the plan. You will get another full-scale Happiness Hamper tomorrow and yet another one two days later. Remember, you must be seen by Fudge when he turns up for his annual inspection next Friday. Albus "The Bloody Bastard" Dumbledore leaves tomorrow night for his ICW meet in Brazil, so we have to have that little delay. Sorry about that one, Sirius. Got a place for both Remus Lupin and Moony, but he won't know till we free you and he earns our forgiveness. Remain as Padfoot now! Remember the password."
"Death to the Rat," murmured Sirius, happy, now that the plan had been set into motion. He started with his escape practice. As a dog, he moved around his cage to free his stiff muscles, before flitting in and out of the cage for about an hour. He was soon crossing down to the lower levels of the gaol and very close to the exit. He very, very discretely crept out and then promptly returned. The moonlight that he bathed in and the salty smell of the slightly fresher air invigorated him and cleared his head. He returned to his cell as soon as he could, and vowed to practice this till his escape. He sincerely hoped that Prongslet would send him a full sized Happiness Hamper; the swim to the mainland was going to be very cold.
As he sat back in his cell, Sirius wondered why the kid had a bone to pick with Dumbledore. Sirius held a grudge against the old man for not giving him the courtesy of the trial. Perhaps the pup had picked that up. But he could sense that there was more than just that to the matter. This wasn't a dispute; it was outright enmity between the two. He decided to keep that matter for later, he was sure he would get his answers from Harry. In the meanwhile, he had the jail food to savour for the last few days.
What surprised him more, however, was how he knew that Moony needed different accommodation. The way Pup had phrased his message it was obvious that he knew the difference between Moony and Remus. He was pretty sure that they had never mentioned Moony's affliction around him. Had he worked it out like Lily had done?
The next day, Harry was back at Gringotts for his business with Rita Skeeter. After the customary greetings with Goldhaul and Biggem, the three waited in the lobby to receive the journalist. She came in at just the appointed time, half past ten that morning. The three goblins knew that this was not the best person to meet as one started the day for business, but had decided to grin and bear it.
Forgoing any formality or polite greetings, the witch put on her best simpering smile, and then grabbed Harry by the shoulder, digging in her coloured, long nails. Harry winced imperceptibly. "What a pleasure to meet the Boy-Who-Lived in flesh! I am sure we shall have very fruitful business! Would you be amenable to an exclusive interview about your time in the magical world? Where were you hidden for the ten years before Hogwarts? Why do you feel the need to communicate with the Goblins? How did you come to enter any business transaction with them? What-"
Harry lost his temper, but it would have reflected poorly on Gringotts, and he had no intention to be guilty of such a disgrace. Quickly schooling his face into an expressionless mask, he interrupted her, "Miss Skeeter, I believe that you have left behind your previous profession of journalism. Unless I remember wrong, the terms of the contract stipulated that as a requirement. Breach of trust will not go unpunished." Goldhaul and Biggem glared at the woman to add to the effect. When predictably, Rita quailed, he asked, "I believe it is time to commence business for the day?"
The quartet soon moved to Biggem's office. Harry had met anyone inside Gringotts only in the conference room. He had never seen a personal office before. Biggem's office was sparsely furnished, and held a very intricately carved black marble desk and seating arrangements. The engravings were embellished with several gems. The room looked much like a tall cavern, with an unnatural, but not unpleasant, coolness to it. Waiting for the two Account Managers to sit, Harry then opened the discussions. "Ms. Skeeter, I believe that you have read the letter that Gringotts sent to you on my behalf. If I may ask, what have you comprehended about this project? What have you interpreted of the offer? Do you find any discrepancies in the planning?"
The questions, asked in a plain, inflectionless monotone, made the rabid reporter stop to think before answering. She spoke, rather respectfully, after a small period of silence, "Mr. Potter, Harry, if I may call you that? Firstly I would like to ask you a few questions. Why did you feel that this, project, as you call it is necessary?"
"Good. It is a sign of prudence on your part to not be swayed by the allure of money. At this point, the DMLE and Gringotts have both been given proof that Tom Marvolo Riddle, also known as Voldemort," (they ignored her violent wince) "is alive. That is all I will say. I believe Master Biggem and Master Goldhaul will explain things better. But firstly: your first oath."
They handed her a written oath, which she took unhesitatingly. Harry believed that it had more to do with the four armed Goblin guards surrounding her as she took the piece of parchment. "I, Rita Sophia Skeeter, do hereby swear on my life and my magic, that I shall not divulge any word that I hear spoken among the People of the Nation, or any word spoken to me, by word of mouth or publication, by name or under anonymity. I shall not divulge anything through any third party, or through wilful callousness, through hints or any sort of carelessness. Should I choose not to go through with the deal, I hereby give express permission to have my memory of the meeting erased, under authority of the People of the Nation. As I say, so I swear!" A flash of light surrounded her in acceptance of this oath.
And so the goblins, masters at information control for business and war alike, gave Rita Skeeter enough information to accept the truth, that Voldemort was indeed, not as dead as he seemed to be. That shook the woman quite a bit, and she had to be given a shot of Firewhiskey to keep her calm. It was then that she was given an in-depth description of the job that they had for her. As they did so, Rita started to wear a most curious expression. On one hand, the risks involved made her feel paler with each word, while the idea of money and dirt on several 'upstanding' people got the mercenary of a reporter excited beyond words. Harry was hard pressed to suppress his chuckle, and only just about managed to swallow his laughter. When Biggem and Goldhaul were done, Rita was unnaturally quiet for some time. Harry decided to sweeten the deal, while showing a card that could have been used much better later. "Let me sweeten the pot for you a bit. If you decide to help us bug the targets, we can ensure that your secret will be protected legally without creating a buzz. Moreover, we will clog all sources of intelligence by which those that you have ruined before- rightly or wrongly- will come to know about your deviousness."
Rita's eyes widened at that. She had caught on to the different inflections that Harry had given to the two words. Now, she had descended into a position where she simply had to take the correct decision. Her secrets were known to these people, and it was enough to ruin her completely, if it was ever to be divulged. At the same time, it was an opportunity of a lifetime. She realised that there was only one correct decision. "I accept," she replied circumspectly.
"Very good," replied Harry with mock joviality. "I believe, then, that we should progress to the contract." For all practical purposes, the contract was just a formality. With an extremely tasty carrot, and an extremely strong stick, Rita knew that she had been cornered right and proper. At last they came to the Unbreakable Vows. Harry and Rita kneeled, clasping right hands, with Bill, who had been called up for the very task of being their bonder stood beside them.
"With the witnesses, Biggem and Goldhaul of the People of the Nation, I William Arthur Weasley, do hereby execute my duties as the bonder for the Unbreakable Vows between Rita Sophia Skeeter and Hadrian James Potter, also known as Griffinheart of the People. Do you agree?"
Rita nodded with wide eyes at the mention of Harry's Goblin name, as did Harry and the two goblins.
"Do you, Rita Sophia Skeeter, accept the business proposal awarded to you by the Nation on behalf of Griffinheart? Do you swear to perform your duties as stipulated with utmost loyalty to the Nation?"
"I do."
A twirl of fire enclosed the clasped hands from Bill's wand.
"Do you, Rita Sophia Skeeter, swear to gather true evidence, verifiable physically or under truth serum? Do you swear to not speculate, but to gather real, hard proof?"
"I do." Another twirl of fire enclosed their clasped hands.
"Do you, Rita Sophia Skeeter, swear to turn over all evidence to Chief Bones personally, or to Masters Biggem and Goldhaul, without tampering or resorting to any sort of subterfuge, and to not keep any copy, physical or in memory for your personal benefit?"
That meant that she would have her memory of her spying erased. It was difficult, but she had been explained that it was also a protection for her- to give her plausible deniability. "I do." Another twirl of fire joined the first two.
"Do you, Rita Sophia Skeeter, swear to never print or leak any benign or malicious information, true or false, against the following: Sirius Orion Black, Remus John Lupin, Amelia Susan Bones, the Auror department- barring for any exceptions that may be notified to you at a later date, Hadrian James Potter, Hermione Jean Granger and family, the Weasley family, Minerva Rowena McGonagall, Regulus Arcturus Black, and any other name to be notified later on, on a contract-parchment to be signed by you after this oath, unless otherwise intimated?"
"I do."
"Do you, Hadrian James Potter, swear to protect Rita Sophia Skeeter's secrets and protect her if she is hurt or injured- not including death, during the course of her duties pertaining to this contract, and to pay her appropriately?"
"I do." The five twirls of fire glowed brightly for a second, before coalescing and then wearing off.
"As I say, so I swear!" intoned the three humans, in perfect unison. Harry smirked. A large monster had just been unleashed.
Ginny's tantrum is a nod to Driftwood1965's Harry Potter and the Future's Past. I hope he updates soon.